Hi, I only have a few minutes, but I wanted to write you on this dark day for democracy.
We are not going to be intimidated by a mob.
Congress must complete its certification of the Electoral College results. Wherever we must meet, and however long it takes, I’m here. I’ll be representing you in upholding the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
Two weeks. Two weeks until Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are sworn in. Let’s stay strong.
– Jake
Crazy Divers: Men be like...
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Appreciate that our Rep will do his constructional duty, unlike so many others today. But will he step up and push for more?
* The President is supporting an attempted coup. Will our new Congressman stand with Rep. Omar and Rep. Ocasio-Cortez (and David Frum for gosh sakes!) and push for impeachment?
* The Capitol Police, who let this happen (when they have arrested many more for SO MUCH LESS) now work for Rep. Auchincloss and his colleagues. What does our former Marine have to say about these folks (and their leaders) being trusted to keep him safe going forward?
^^ Constitutional, not “constructional”! Sorry for the typo in a moment of passion.
I was just thinking about our new Congressperson. Outside of issues commentary, my thoughts honestly turned to “What a first week at the new gig.” Welcome to DC, Jake.
Quite an orientation to Congress. This moment calls for moral leadership.
We need to:
1. Remove Trump from office (25A / Impeachment)
2. Re-emphasize the integrity of our institutions, including our free & fair elections
3. Get back to governing. Lives & livelihoods are at stake.
Hi Jake. I agree 100%. Impeachment seems the better path, as I believe it can be disqualifying for future office. When Trump was elected, I certainly saw him as a danger to the republic, but he has exceeded my worst fears.
Stay safe!
I have to wonder how many other members of Congress post on their city’s local blog’s comments to tell people directly about what’s going on in Congress. Thanks for coming here and for pushing back against this terrorism, Congressman.
Great start to your work Jake. The Insurrectionists cannot be allowed to escape accountability for what they have done, both the thugs that invaded the Capitol and the political operatives that have allowed this cancer to fester. Our Democracy is in dire straits and has been trending this way for quite some time. Several main stream institutions publish annual indexes of the democratic health of 167 to 175 nations; among them the Democracy Index (DI) published annually by the Economist Magazine’s Intelligence Unit and the annual “Civicus Monitor” report compiled by several NGOs. All show the democratic health of this country deteriorating at an alarming rate with the number of robust democracies in decline. My grandparents left Ireland to escape political repression and economic deprivation. Ireland is now tied with Canada for 6th place while the US had declined to 26th place in last year’s listing. I’m certain it will fall even further when data from 2020 is analyzed. We are in dangerous waters.
Most on this blog recognize that Trump is a fascist dictator with no respect for democracy, who should have been dragged out of the White House by his heels long ago, [metaphorically speaking of course]. But I’m afraid many V14 readers may miss the irony in the comment from Congressman Auchincloss.
Not long ago, after a winning state wide ballot initiative that Newton voted in favor of, Auchincloss and a handful of other City Councilors refused to honor the results of that vote. Those councilors forced not one, but two revotes of the ballot initiative in an effort to derail a legal vote of their constituents. An entirely new political action committee had to be formed to implore Auchincloss and the other councilors to “RESPECT THE VOTE,” [which more than 4 years later the City Council still has not done].
I’m not suggesting there is a moral equivalency between insurrection and vote tampering. I’m simply pointing out that the mountain of democracy erodes one stone at a time. Auchincloss has already done his share of damage. Until he proves himself as a true guardian of democracy, his words will continue to ring hollow with me.
Jake, did you hide under your desk like the other congressmen as you were told?
After everything – COVID spread to his family, 5 dead in the Capitol insurrection, egged on by trump, including a murdered cop – Tom Mountain is *still* siding with trump, and needs now to speak up on whether he & the MassGOP support the armed insurrection now being planned for Jan 17 in DC and state capitols around the nation. Trump returned to fomenting further insurrection on social media, and reportedly expressed regret for his short video in which he said he supported a peaceful transfer of power.
https://www.wcvb.com/article/mass-gop-official-condemns-anarchy-blames-fringe-group-not-trump/35152724#
A chartered bus left Newton to attend the “Save America” event. There’s a photo of some of them in this article. Did any Newton residents take part in illegally entering the Capitol building? Can the city confirm that no city employees were part of the illegal activities on Jan 6?
https://news.yahoo.com/well-fight-tooth-nail-bus-165610232.html
I understand the Newton chartered bus was organized by Suzanne Ianni.
FBI Boston 11 am tweet:
#BREAKING: This morning, special agents and officers assigned to #FBI Boston’s Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested without incident Mark G. Sahady, of Malden, MA, & Suzanne Ianni, of Natick, MA, for their alleged roles in connection with the riots at the U.S. Capitol.